The preparative liquid chromatographic apparatus is an apparatus for separating components in a solution in which a plurality of components are mixed according to the principle of chromatography using a difference in passing speed of different compounds through a column filler. In recent years, even in such preparative liquid chromatographs, the functions have been advanced and automated, and many attempts have been made to achieve efficient dispensing.
In such a preparative liquid chromatographic apparatus, the eluate after passing through a column is dispensed at regular time intervals. When such fraction separation is carried out, what kind of components are present in each dispensed fraction cannot be clarified without qualitative analysis.
For example, in the separation after performing a synthesis reaction, it is common to execute a qualitative analysis for the fraction after the dispensing in order to know which fraction includes the target compound, whether impurities are mixed in the fraction, or the like.
However, qualitative analysis needs sample adjustment such as concentration adjustment of dispensed fractions, which requires complicated labor.
Among chromatographic apparatuses for analysis such as HPLCs, an HPLC-MS with a mass spectrometer disposed downstream of the dispensing column is known. In general, however, such a device is a qualitative analysis unit for performing analysis, and installation of any other qualitative analysis unit in a preparative chromatographic apparatus has not been common.
The installation of a mass spectrometer in a preparative chromatographic apparatus is described in Patent Literature 1. However, according to Patent Literature 1, the mass spectrometer is installed not for the purpose of checking qualitative data of a fraction, but for the purpose of obtaining the timing of fractionation conducted by a fraction collector for acquiring a large amount of target sample, from the result of a mass spectrum. Therefore, the mass spectrometer is not intended to be used for obtaining the qualitative data of the fraction.